Governance News 8 November 2023

60 minute read (PDF download) 08.11.2023 Mark Standen, Siobhan Doherty, Kate Hilder

This week's issue again has a strong ESG focus. We cover the release of a landmark new legal opinion authored by Sebastian Hartford Davis and Zoe Bush which finds that directors' duty under Australian law to exercise 'care and diligence' already requires that they take into account nature-related risks and that they could be held personally liable for breaching this duty if they fail to consider nature-related risks. We also include coverage of an expert panel discussion on the implications of the opinion for Australian directors. On the financial services front, we include a detailed overview of the government's proposed approach to the regulation of digital platforms and more….

Disclosure and Reporting Navigation Show below Hide below

Review of 2021 changes to the continuous disclosure regime launched
Greenwashing set to continue to be a top enforcement priority for ASIC

Institutional shareholders and stewardship Navigation Show below Hide below

Top Story | Essential sectors that drive Australia's economy

ESG Navigation Show below Hide below

Top Story | Nature related risk: Landmark legal opinion cautions directors may be liable for nature-related risk under existing Australian law
Top Story | Where to start with nature-related risk? Key takeaways from an expert panel
The Australian government has opened consultation on its long-awaited sustainable finance strategy
Implementation of mandatory climate reporting in Australia | NSW Bar Association opposes the government's proposed three year ban on private litigation
Democrats urge SEC to finalise the proposed climate disclosure rule, and to 'preserve' key elements of the proposal (including Scope 3 disclosure requirements)
ISSB adoption | NBIM (and others) urge UK government urged to adopt ISSB standards with minimal change
ISSB adoption | HKEX pushes back implementation of new 'enhanced' ESG disclosure requirements to 1 January 2025
$33 trillion coalition backs CDPs campaign for the world's high-emitters to adopt science based targets
In Brief | (More) evidence there is a strong business case for gender diversity: BlackRock has released a paper – Lifting Financial Performance by investing in Women - outlining the financial benefits of gender diverse workplaces
In Brief | Companies are 'yet to come up with the details, quantified and costed transition plans needed in this critical decade': Analysis by The Transition Pathway Initiative Centre (based at the London School of Economics and Political Science) of 1000+ companies' transition plans reveals that just 5% quantify how they will meet their greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy and only 1% of companies are aligning their future capital expenditures with their own long-term decarbonisation goals
In Brief | Major bank outlines plans to work towards the goal of 'becoming a nature positive bank': The Australian Conservation Foundation has 'commended Westpac for becoming the first Australian bank to set a zero-deforestation target for loans to beef, dairy and sheep farming; following the release of Westpac's Natural Capital Position Statement

Meetings and Proxy Advisers Navigation Show below Hide below

Qantas shareholders 'strike' on pay

Financial Services Navigation Show below Hide below

Top Story | 2024: Licence to crypto
Complaints handling delays | ASIC takes court action against super fund
Combatting online scams | ASIC has taken down 2100 scam websites since July 2023 (with 400 more in the process of being taken down)
Implementing ALRC Interim Report A and B recommendations to simplify Treasury portfolio legislation: New regulations registered
AFCA is consulting on its approach to determining compensation in complaints involving financial advisers and managed investment schemes
In Brief | The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England are consulting on their proposed approach to regulating stablecoins (including their proposed approach to regulating operators of systemic payment systems using stablecoins). The Bank’s proposals 'cover any payment systems in the future that use stablecoins in the UK at systemic scale'. The due date for submissions is 6 February 2024

Risk Management Navigation Show below Hide below

Top Story | Third party cyber risk awareness for government agencies
Privacy Commissioner launches court action against Australian listed company over data breach
In Brief | Boohoo is reportedly facing an investor-led class action seeking compensation after allegations of modern slavery in the company's supply chains led to a significant drop in value of the company